Observational studyMedicine2017
Ultrasound versus fluoroscopy-guided medial branch block for the treatment of lower lumbar facet joint pain: A retrospective comparative study.
Observational study in Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04658953 (Comparison of the Effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided Versus Radioguided Medial Lumbar Bundle Branch Block), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comparison of the Effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided Versus Radioguided Medial Lumbar Bundle Branch Block
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multiple injections for low back pain: What's the future?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2020Pooled it
- Comparison of the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided versus fluoroscopy-guided medial lumbar bundle branch block on pain related to lumbar facet joints: a multicenter randomized controlled non-inferiority study.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- Ultrasound-guided versus low dose computed tomography scanning guidance for lumbar facet joint injections: same accuracy and efficiency.BMC anesthesiology · 2018Trial
- Psoas Compartment Block Versus Medial Branch Block for Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review of Anatomical Targets, Clinical Evidence, and Patient Selection.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Image-guided injections for facet joint pain: evidence-based Delphi conjoined consensus paper from the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology and European Society of Neuroradiology.European radiology · 2025Article
- Development of a Pericapsular Elbow Desensitization Technique in Dogs-A Canine Cadaveric Study.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Determining the Most Suitable Ultrasound-Guided Injection Technique in Treating Lumbar Facet Joint Syndrome.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Ultrasound-guided axial facet joint interventions for chronic spinal pain: A narrative review.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2023Review
- The Role of Diagnostic Injections in Spinal Disorders: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Ultrasound-Guided Lumbar Spine Injection for Axial and Radicular Pain: A Single Institution Early Experience.Asian spine journal · 2021Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2020Article
- Robotic ultrasound-guided facet joint insertion.International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery · 2018Article
- [Lumbar CT-guided radiofrequency ablation of the medial branch of the dorsal ramus of the spinal nerve : Anatomic study and description of a new technique].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2018Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the mid-term effects and benefits of ultrasound (US)-guided and fluoroscopy (FL)-guided medial branch blocks (MBBs) for chronic lower lumbar facet joint pain through pain relief, functional improvement, and injection efficiency evaluation.Patients with chronic lumbar facet joint pain who received US (n = 68) or FL-guided MBBs (n = 78) were included in this retrospective study. All procedures were performed under FL or US guidance. Complication frequency, therapeutic effects, functional improvement, and the injection efficiency of MBBs were compared at 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injection.Both the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the verbal numeric pain scale (VNS) improved at 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injections in both groups. Statistical differences were not observed in ODI and VNS between the groups (P > .05). The proportion of patients who reported successful treatment outcomes showed no significant differences between the groups at different time points. Logistic regression analysis showed that sex, pain duration, injection methods, number of injections, analgesic use, and age were not independent predictors of a successful outcome. US guidance was associated with a significantly shorter performance time.US-guided MBBs did not show significant differences in analgesic effect and functional improvement compared with the FL-guided approach. Therefore, by considering our data from this retrospective study, US-guided MBBs warrant consideration in the conservative management of lower lumbar facet joint pain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.